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Yeah, I don't think English needs to be taught past year ten. Once you have reasonably literacy and can write an essay if needed they should stop. In the last two years of school, all you really learn is how to overanalyse books and how to write styles of essays that you'll never actually need (eg argumentative essays).
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Good sir! We write argumentative essays
here every day!
I can't speak for Australia, but I certainly think that English needs more focus here in America, where the majority of people can't convey their ideas in a coherent way. Discussions in English classes are also great for sparking philosophical conversations that some Americans otherwise wouldn't be involved with.
I think what really turns people off of English are assignments on books that are above the students' comprehension. Some teachers choose books like Melville's "Billy Budd" and Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" because they're
short, when neither of these books need to be taught below the 12th Grade (probably Australia's year 13?). It's not that they're hard to read; I've read both. It's just that the majority of students that would be reading them do not have enough "world experience" to walk away from the book with significant meaning... this is especially true for writers like Faulkner. I've met
one person under thirty that likes (and understands) Faulkner.
So, in summation, I like my opinion, but you're point is just as valid. Higher English really isn't
too practical. XD
Really, I don't even believe that grammar rules are
that important (mainly because I could never remember them all!). I don't give a shit what a "gerund" or a "participle" is, but dammit, I can write a paper. English is all about forming coherent opinions, in my... opinion.
[/Dino post]